Wed, 28 September 2016
Want to learn how to increase agency revenue four times over? Or are you having trouble finding your agency's nice and the best sales process for you? Don't worry, this week's Smart Agency Master Class has you covered. In this episode, we’ll cover:
This week’s podcast guest is my client, Zach Williams who is the definition of crushing it. At his agency Venveo, the client roster has quadrupled year over year, the pipeline is full, sales cycle is shorter and conversion rate is higher. Learn all the strategies Zach and his team are using for such huge success and increase agency revenue. Zach got his start creating websites at the age of 16 and continued to do it as a freelancer through college. It’s all he’s known, so starting an agency seemed like the natural next step. They grew organically for several years with referrals but hit a plateau where they spent two years. That’s when Zach searched for something to help get them beyond that plateau in order to scale… and found me :)
Strategies to Increase Agency RevenueStrategy 1 - Focus on a SpecialtyWHAT: Focus on a specialty where you can position yourself as an authority.Venveo is a digital agency specializing in building manufacturing materials but they weren’t always in that niche. In fact, Zach says they had no niche - just another “me too” agency promising they could do everything for everyone. It took him awhile to understand this was the one thing holding them back. HOW: Stop worrying about what could go wrong and think about what could go right.Zach said the biggest thing was getting over the initial fear of turning work away and figure out what space you can make yours. Most people fear specializing because they think they will be turning off potential clients. Zach says he learned the opposite is true. When you are aiming at a specific target you have a better chance at hitting it. It was a tough decision but Zach says he explains it as being the intersection between what you love, what you’re good at and what people need and described it like this Venn diagram: It’s a stressful decision and once it was made there was a ton of pressure for it to work. Patience is key. It took 1.5 - 2 years for it to feel like selecting this niche was the right move. Zach's advice is to stay the course. Strategy 2 - Focus on a Sales ProcessWHAT: Focus on a sales process for new client acquisition to keep your pipeline full.New client acquisition is super important to the health of an agency. When Zach started focusing on a sales process he noticed a tremendous impact on his business. Agency clients quadrupled year-over-year. HOW: Create an irresistible Foot in the Door offer to attract new clients.Most agencies want to go after the big, high-ticket projects right off the bat. But using a foot-in-the-door offer as a lower-priced, smaller commitment is the way to go. Getting a chance to show your awesomeness in a small way will lead to bigger projects. This gives the client an opportunity to test you out AND gives you the chance to filter out bad prospects with a smaller engagement instead of a huge one. Have trouble figuring out your Foot in the Door offer? Here's a video all about it. Keep in mind, this is not a “paid proposal”. When you’re deciding on your offer it needs to be something that is valuable and packed full of information. This is bigger than a proposal because it’s your first opportunity to ‘wow’ them. Some ideas might be: a discovery session or audit, a competitive analysis, or an analytics setup. Beware of these 3 common Foot in the Door mistakes:
Cashflow or bookkeeping issues?FreshBooks is the solution. FreshBooks makes ridiculously easy to use cloud accounting software for agencies that will help you work smarter, become more organized, and most importantly, get you paid quickly. Check out FreshBooks.com/SmartAgency and enter SMARTAGENCY in the "How Did You Hear About Us?" section for a FREE 30-day, unrestricted trial. What Do You Do When You Have Your Ideal Clients?When you increase agency revenue, you are both opening your business up to new opportunities as well as potential downfalls. This is why it's best to be prepared and be aware of other areas of your business you want to improve. Through evaluating other areas of weakness within your agency, you can create a better business and improve as an agency owner. And the best thing about it is, I can help you get through all of it. I can give you support and advice on many topics from what to do when you want to speed up sales processes, ways to increase your business profit margins or how you can build an authority for your agency. Growing your agency can be a major struggle for any agency owner and I can show you the different phases of growth you will experience, how placing a process for performance based pricing can be the best pricing strategy for your business, and the three questions you need to ask yourself to sell more! Learn about my career and different experiences as well as tips, tricks and insights by checking out my blogs that cover a wide variety of topics. Find more from my Ask Swenk series and more of my videos on my YouTube channel. There you will find advice from me and other agency experts.
Direct download: Smart_Agency_Master_Class_Podcast_-_Zach_Williams___revised.mp3
Category:#PODCAST -- posted at: 5:00am MST |
Tue, 27 September 2016
Should You White Label the Services That Your Agency Provides?In this episode of Ask Swenk, we talk about all things to do with white labeling agency services. This is from whether you should white label in order to work with big brands, to charging for it and who's responsible for liability insurance on white labeled services. {1:20} Phil asked: "I currently white label my services for another company and they are dealing with some pretty big clients.... What are your thoughts on white labeling?" {5:34} Phil also asked: "I know the agency I'm white labeling for is adding a large chunk of money on top of what I am charging. For example, I charge them 5k for a website and they are charging the client 25k. I would otherwise be happy with the prices I charge them if I didn't know they were charging so much on top of it. Should I up my rates to them and risk them going elsewhere? Or do I carry on with them taking the lion's share of the profit?" {7:38} Meg asked: "In instances of white labelled services, which party is responsible for liability insurance for the services rendered? The company that is white labelling a service, or the actual service provider?" Hey, Smart Agency Master Class fans! Save time & win more workReplace your proposals, quotes and presentations with interactive + mobile-friendly webpages that plug into your systems and are as easy to build and reuse as they are beautiful. Sign up now for free and get 50% off for 3 months by using the coupon code smartagency while upgrading. If you want to read more about how you can improve your agency and yourself as an agency owner, find lots of amazing information by reading our blogs or if videos are more your thing, visit my Youtube channel!
Direct download: Should_You_White_Label_Agency_Services_..._AskSwenk_ep_49.mp3
Category:#AskSwenk Show -- posted at: 5:00am MST |
Wed, 21 September 2016
What is a Healthy Profit Margin for a Digital Agency?What is a healthy profit margin goal for your agency? If this is something you have asked yourself more than once or struggle with, this episode is for you. In this episode, we’ll cover:
Financials can get confusing. We all can agree there are so many different statements and ways of reporting - it’s all very overwhelming. That’s why his agency looks at the big picture and watches for trends, rather than focusing on the details. Tip #1: Understand Healthy Profit MarginsMost CPA's says a 10% profit margin is good, and 15% is outstanding, but I believe and have seen margins well over the 32% range. If you aren't quite there yet, make this your top priority. A solid profit margin is a key to financial health. There are a variety of ways to calculate profit. Gross Revenue - Expenses - Owner Salary = Net Profit* Net Profit / Gross Revenue = Profit *Note: Owner Distributions and Profit Taxes are taken from the Net Profit) Tip #2: Make Profit a PriorityMost business owners consider their profit to be simply the amount “leftover” each month after all other expenses are paid. If that’s what you’re doing, you’re going about it all wrong! Jason mentions the book Profit First which explains an accounting method for making sure your business is highly and permanently profitable by setting aside profit before paying other expenses. Tip #3: Regular Review of FinancialsWhen you’re going over financials, the Income Statement is the #1 document you need to be reviewing regularly. Jason says this is the statement that’s going to give an accurate account of your agency’s financial health. It essentially takes your more detailed line items and lumps them together into larger categories to report gross revenue, expenses, and profit. Tip #4: Build Cash ReservesThere is no magic number for how much an agency should have in reserve - it all depends on the risk comfort of the owner. However, a good rule of thumb is to keep 3 months of expenses in a savings account. This saves potential headaches and fears, and can also help float your cash flow if needed. Tip #5: Improve Cash FlowAs you grow, you get bigger clients. The bigger the client, the more hoops there are to jump through to get paid. This drastically slows things down. So one trick Jason talks about it to change your billing cycle from every 30 days to every 15 days. The sooner you invoice, the quicker you’ll get paid. I also have a blog post about additional ways to improve cash flow, including changing payment terms right in your proposal. Tip #6: Don’t Let Growth Psych You OutIn a growth phase, cash can be deceiving. It feels like you’re raking in the dough but a lot of people don’t look at the flip side to see what each client is costing them. Sometimes they’re only breaking even. Jason cautions all agency owners to take a regular look at financials to see if you’re as profitable as you think. And last but not least, meet with your CPA regularly. Agencies who are growing rapidly should meet with their CPA on a monthly basis or even more frequently. Discover the Best Agency Strategies Working Today by Connecting with the Best Agencies. This collaborative mastermind is filled with other motivated agency owners that are cool, fun, and willing to share their knowledge and wisdom to help catapult you to the next level. Learn more. Grow Your AgencyUnderstanding profit margin goals can be the first step into growing as an agency owner and your agency. I always suggest taking a step back to look for weak spots in your business. Are you ignoring these within your agency? No matter what challenge your agency is facing, I can help you get through all of it. There are many topics I can give advice on from the different phases of growth you will experience to how you can build authority for your agency. Growing your agency can be a major struggle for any agency owner and I can show from how placing a process for performance based pricing can be the best pricing strategy for your business and the three questions you need to ask yourself to sell more! Want more? Learn about my career and different experiences as well as tips, tricks and insights by checking out my blogs that cover a wide variety of topics. Check out more from my Ask Swenk series and more of my videos on my Youtube channel. There you will find advice from myself and other agency experts.
Direct download: Smart_Agency_Master_Class_Podcast_-_Jason_M_Blumer__revised.mp3
Category:#PODCAST -- posted at: 5:00am MST |
Tue, 20 September 2016
Figuring out the right level of transparency to have with employees about agency finances. How much should they know in order to motivate them and how much is too much? Transparency of Agency Finances With Your TeamJack asked: {1:35} "I like the idea of bonuses based on profitability. How much info should I share with my team? Do they need to know everyone else's salary/wages so they can monitor project budgets, costs, profits, etc.?" The short answer is you shouldn't share everyone's salaries as they don't need to know this information. A great way to create a process for bonuses leading by my personal experience would be to create a budget with the project managers as a buffer and provide bonus opportunities for completing the project under the budgeted time. {3:47} "How much financial info should I share, and how much is too much?" This is a great question and completely depends on where these employees are in the business. Everyone wants to contribute and feel like they are making a difference within an agency and we personally shared top line agency finances to show the impact of work within the agency. Sharing salaries can create conflict if they differ which can depend on many different aspects leading to employees within the agency feeling undervalued. {6:59} "Will employees get resentful knowing how much the CEO/Owner make?" Not necessarily. From personal experience, we shared with our employees our salaries but withheld distributions and dividends that come with the perks of being an agency owner like tax relief and credits. This is what I would recommend doing for your own agency. Hey, Smart Agency Master Class fans! Save time & win more workReplace your proposals, quotes and presentations with interactive + mobile-friendly web pages that plug into your systems and are as easy to build and reuse as they are beautiful. Sign up now for free and get 50% off for 3 months by using the coupon code smart agency while upgrading. Want More about How You Can Improve Your Agency and Yourself as an Agency Owner?You can read our blogs that cover a wide variety of topics or if videos are more your thing, visit my Youtube channel! Become a Better OwnerSharing your agency finances and perfecting processes can help elevate not only your business but improve you as an agency owner. This doesn't mean that this is the end of your struggles but I can help you get through all of it. From my own experiences, I can give you advice on recognising new client opportunities to different ways of building authority to improve your agency. If you are having issues with growing your agency, I can show you how performance based pricing can be the best pricing strategy for your business as well as the three questions you need to ask yourself to sell more! Learn all about my career and different experiences as well as lots of tips, tricks and insights by checking out my blogs that cover a wide variety of topics. Make sure to check out my Ask Swenk series and more of my videos on my Youtube channel. There you will find advice from myself and other agency experts.
Direct download: Sharing_Agency_Finances_with_Key_Employees..._AskSwenk_48.mp3
Category:#AskSwenk Show -- posted at: 5:00am MST |
Wed, 14 September 2016
In this episode, we’ll cover the 7 deadly sins that agency owners commit in their own marketing, and how to quit sinning and start winning new business. This week on the The Smart Agency Master Class I talk with my friend Diane Young, co-founder of The Drum which is Europe’s leading marketing news platform, and recently has made it’s way to the US. Diane has spent over a decade observing and interviewing agencies. And in that time she’s been able to pinpoint 7 things that agencies do to themselves to negatively impact their own growth. Diane shares the 7 Deadly Sins for Agency Marketing. Find out if you’re committing them and what you can do to stop before it’s too late! [clickToTweet tweet="These are the 7 Deadly Sins #Agencies Are Committing. Are You Guilty of Any?" quote="These are the 7 Deadly Sins Agencies Are Committing. Are You Guilty of Any?"] 7 Deadly Sins of Agency MarketingSo what are the 7 deadly sins of agency marketing you need to avoid to elevate your marketing strategy? Let's break them down..
Bottom line, in a wide sea of agencies you’ve got to find your way to stand out. Have a unique selling proposition and a vision for where you’re headed. Then, commit to taking action and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone to get it done. And remember not to commit the 7 deadly sins. Agency Tools You Need to Check Out...There's a couple pretty fantastic tools that all agency owners need to check out with some amazing deals just for Smart Agency Master Class listeners... Cashflow or bookkeeping issues? FreshBooks is the solution. FreshBooks makes ridiculously easy to use cloud accounting software for agencies that will help you work smarter, become more organized, and most importantly, get you paid quickly. Check out FreshBooks.com/SmartAgency and enter SMARTAGENCY in the "How Did You Hear About Us?" section for a FREE 30-day, unrestricted trial. Klipfolio is a tool that is helping agencies continuously monitor and report analytics. It's cloud-based software allows you to define KPI’s based on your preferences and filters. With 50+ built-in marketing metrics, you can create a dashboard for yourself and your clients which can be viewed on desktop, mobile or old-fashioned PDF. For a limited time, Klipfolio has a special deal for my listeners. Get a FREE TRIAL and an amazing offer just for The Smart Agency Master Class listeners at Klipfolio.com/SmartAgency. What Do You Do When You Have Your Ideal Clients?Being aware of the 7 deadly sins of agency marketing can help you elevate your marketing strategy and bring your digital agency to the next level within the industry but why stop there? Through evaluating other areas of weakness within your agency, you can create a better business and improve as an agency owner. And I can help you get through all of it. I have provided many successful agency owner with support and advice on many topics from what to do when you want to speed up sales processes, ways to increase your business profit margins or how you can build an authority for your agency. Growing pains within an agency can be a major struggle and I can show you how to identify the different phases of agency growth, why placing a solid process for performance based pricing can be the best pricing strategy and what the three questions you need to ask yourself are for you to sell more! Learn about my career and different experiences as well as tips, tricks and insights by checking out my blogs that cover a wide variety of topics. Find more from my Ask Swenk series and more of my videos on my Youtube channel. There you will find advice from myself and other agency experts. |
Tue, 13 September 2016
Discover the pros and cons of a merger with an agency that has complimentary services. Determine if you are competitively priced in your market, and is it possible to scale a creative agency? {1:35} Rikki asked: "We are a digital marketing agency considering merging with a design and development agency. We think this will be a good move because the services are very complimentary. What are the pros and cons?" {6:03} Imani asked: "How do you know if you are competitively priced? I thought about getting proposals from my competitors for the type businesses that I would like to work with... should I?" {9:29} Peter asked: "How do you scale a creative agency ? Can it even be scaled? Some say agencies, in general, cannot be scaled." Hey, Smart Agency Master Class fans! Save time & win more workReplace your proposals, quotes and presentations with interactive + mobile-friendly webpages that plug into your systems and are as easy to build and reuse as they are beautiful. Sign up now for free and get 50% off for 3 months by using the coupon code smartagency while upgrading. What’s Next After a Merger?If you have more questions, I can help. Whether you have been an agency owner for some time or have just taken the leap and started a new agency, I have covered topics including bringing in big clients for your agency to leverage the use of Youtube for your agency marketing strategy. Check out all my tips, tricks and everything you need to know in my blogs. I have covered a wide variety of topics as well as answering your questions in more from my Ask Swenk series. Are videos more your thing? You can check out my Ask Swenk series and more of my videos on my Youtube channel for advice from myself and other agency experts.
Direct download: Pros_Cons_of_Merger_Competitive_Pricing_and_Scaling..._AskSwenk_47.mp3
Category:#AskSwenk Show -- posted at: 5:00am MST |
Wed, 7 September 2016
Building the Best Sales Team to Grow Your AgencyWant to know what you need to do to build the best sales team to grow your agency and bring in new clients? Looking for a new cold call strategy? I've got all you need to know. In this episode, we’ll cover:
My guest on today’s show is Wes Schaeffer, The Sales Whisperer. Wes spent a decade in the Air Force and another in commissioned sales before starting his business as a sales coach and trainer. He shares some great tips for cold calling, as well as strategies for hiring and managing great sales people. His advice is totally practical and will help you develop a killer sales outbound strategy. Common Sales Team ProblemsWes says most salespeople don’t fully understand the value of the resources and expertise they bring to the table. This causes 2 major issues:
Wes used the example of a heart surgeon: The surgeon is selling heart surgery but he doesn’t have all the answers, he is connected to a team and has confidence that together they can solve the problem. He has confidence in his team of MRI techs, anesthesiologists, etc. He knows he is connected to all the right people to solve his patients’ problems. The solution for the best sales team for your agency: Sell on the fact that you are connected to all the best people in the industry. Be confident in the value that you represent and the fact that your team can solve the challenges and problems your clients face. Talk the talk and walk the walk. Be the best sales team out there. A No-Fail Cold Call Strategy for AgenciesPeople say the old-school cold call is dead but Wes says in B2B, it’s still alive and well. For a successful cold call, you need to find a common connection or mutual relationship - someone or something they know or heard of - then use that as your opening. Define your dream 100 list and go for it. If you can’t find mutual interest to get a foot in the door, you will have to go old school which can be hard in our technology driven society, BUT... [clickToTweet tweet="Don’t let your prospect hide behind voicemail, caller ID and email with this strategy." quote="Don’t let your prospect hide behind voicemail, caller ID and email with this strategy."] You’ll get the best response from a multi-media, multi-touch approach and circle them like a shark. Develop a nurture series of reaching them via email, voicemail and social media, such as LinkedIn or other industry social communities. Do your homework first. Know WHO you’re talking to, WHAT they’re doing and HOW they’re doing it. In your multi-media messages cite case studies and specific examples of what you understand their challenges to be and how you are equipped to solve them. Create a series of messages (voice, social and email) that are on-point and provide specific information. These can be scripted and follow a template, but you must customize them for this specific prospect. No one wants to hear a generic speech or receive a form letter. Say things like: “I’ll call you at 10AM on Tuesday” then actually follow-up on at that exact day/time. Using this strategy you will prove that you are unique, thorough, consistent, creative and professional… a refreshing change from the usual cold calls they get. Do’s and Don’ts for a great initial call:
Finding, Hiring & Paying Great SalespeopleAlways, always be recruiting. Don’t just look for great sales people when you have the need but focus on building the best sales team for your agency. Keep your eyes open and notice great skill when you see it. Just like college football recruiters, make room for an all-star even if you aren’t in need of one at the time. To find exactly the right candidate, write an ad with some specific instructions on how to apply. This weeds out the people who can’t follow direction. To further screen people, put them through a really rigorous process and see how much they push back, even respond to their interview answers with “that was a terrible response” just to see if they’ll take it or defend themselves. Little things like this can give you real insight into their personality type. When hiring salespeople be clear on duties, expectations and how you’ll measure success. In general, a salesperson should prospect, qualify and build relationships but the agency owner is the best closer. #1 Tips for Crushing Sales GoalsWes’s best advice is to manage activity and pay on results. He says to start by breaking down the numbers. Know your annual sales goal and back out what that means monthly, weekly and daily. Also, track and measure your pipeline in 5-6 stages and know how many prospects you need in each stage to stay on target. Manage sales activity by knowing how many prospects are in each stage of the pipeline at all times. Pay your sales team based on actual conversions. For an example Account Manager commission structure, check out my #AskSwenk advice here. Agency Tools You Need to Check Out...There's a couple pretty fantastic tools that all agency owners need to check out with some amazing deals just for Smart Agency Master Class listeners... Klipfolio is a tool that is helping agencies continuously monitor and report analytics. It's cloud-based software allows you to define KPI’s based on your preferences and filters. With 50+ built-in marketing metrics, you can create a dashboard for yourself and your clients which can be viewed on desktop, mobile or old-fashioned PDF. For a limited time, Klipfolio has a special deal for my listeners. Get a FREE TRIAL and an amazing offer just for The Smart Agency Master Class listeners at Klipfolio.com/SmartAgency. Cashflow or bookkeeping issues? FreshBooks is the solution. FreshBooks makes ridiculously easy to use cloud accounting software for agencies that will help you work smarter, become more organized, and most importantly, get you paid quickly. Check out FreshBooks.com/SmartAgency and enter SMARTAGENCY in the "How Did You Hear About Us?" section for a FREE 30-day, unrestricted trial. What Are Your Agency Concerns?So we've covered how you can build the best sales team for your agency but these might not be the only concerns you have for your business. It doesn’t matter if you have been an agency owner for a while now or have just taken the leap and started a new agency, I have covered topics from the struggles you may face within your agency to leveraging Youtube in your marketing for your agency marketing strategy. Learn more about me or you can check out all my tips, tricks and everything you need to know in my blogs. I have covered a wide variety of topics as well as answering your questions in more from my Ask Swenk series. Are videos more your thing? Don’t worry! You can check out my Ask Swenk series and more of my videos on my Youtube channel for advice from myself and other agency experts.
Direct download: Building_the_Right_Sales_Team_to_Grow_Your_Agency.mp3
Category:#PODCAST -- posted at: 5:00am MST |
Tue, 6 September 2016
Facing Challenges as a New Agency Owner?Answers to some great questions from a new agency owner about starting and growing an agency still in it's infancy stage. We'll cover everything from knowing when and how to hire, to generating leads and setting up all the right systems when you are still a very small agency. Gillian asks... {1:50} "Right now I'm doing everything (lead generation, sales, project management, design, development, etc). How big should I get before I start hiring, and what are the first steps I need to take to replace myself?" {6:20} "I'm primarily a developer and I don't have as much experience in sales or lead generation. Do I need to reach some level of competency in these areas before taking the plunge, or should I "fake it 'til I make it"?" {8:46} "You talk a lot about having set up the right systems in place, and it's fascinating to hear you talk about roles of the CEO, sales people, etc. but what kind of systems do I need to have in place right now as I get started? How far ahead should I be looking?" Tired of Being Restricted in the Career Path You’re On?Are you the owner of a small agency under $300,000? Or a freelancer, marketing professional or agency employee who thinks you can run your own agency better? Jump Start My Agency is a program that covers everything you need to start a profitable agency and land high paying clients of over $20,000. This 4 week course is designed to help you find the ideal clients, charge what you’re worth and learn how to build a team. There are clients waiting to work with you! Let me help you by requesting an invitation to the program. Want to read more about how you can improve your agency and yourself as an agency owner? You can read our blogs that cover a wide variety of topics or if videos are more your thing, visit my Youtube channel!
Direct download: New_Agency_Owner__When_to_Hire__How_to_Set_Up_Systems..._AskSwenk_ep_46.mp3
Category:#AskSwenk Show -- posted at: 5:00am MST |